The Supreme Court: The Test That Wasn't a Test

Civil rights demonstrators have
frequently invoked an American tradition that is as old as the country
itself: the First Amendment "right of the people peaceably to assemble,
and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Harried
police have often invoked something else: the power of every state to
preserve the public peace and protect property rights. The conflict has
faced the Supreme Court with a dilemma: When does state police power
take precedence over the First Amendment's protections for peaceful
demonstrators?

In case after case in past years, the court answered the question by
throwing out convictions for...